A Father as an Example of Ethical Behavior

There are many people who can be considered ethical models. Some of them are involved with charity organizations, others volunteer in different parts of the world, yet others live a life according to religious values. All these people are worth admiring. However, for me my father is the best ethical model possible. I know him since my childhood and can observe his actions closely. Those world leaders are so distant that one can hardly know what they are like in their everyday lives. My father, on the other hand, sets an example for me every day.

I strongly believe that family is one of the most important and valuable things in any person’s life. One must always act well towards family members and support them in difficult times. The person who respects his family and helps out his relatives even despite personal comfort is a real ethical hero for me. We have a big family. May father has ten brothers and sisters and two children of his own. When his father (my grandfather) passed away my father was obliged to take care of his mother, wife, brothers, sisters, and children. To provide for the big family he had to work fourteen hours per day and perform physically difficult manual work. Not once did he complain about that. I didn’t understand at that time how much effort and internal strength it took to support such a big family. Being a child I didn’t stop to thank him for his hard work. However, I understand now that my father has done an amazing job keeping the family together and helping all of us thought the tough time. I yearn to be like my father, to help my family and other people, to put the comfort of others in front of my personal desires. I think this requires a strong character and some self-sacrifice.

My father tries to help every member of his family. When one of my uncles got sick, it was my dad who stayed at the hospital to take care of him. Moreover, he helps my mother a lot. He wakes up at 5 o’clock in the morning every day to help her wash all the family clothes (which is three big baskets). He is a very good husband and he doesn’t divide the work into male and female categories. He just sees where help is needed and tries to fill those gaps. This fact tells a lot about my father. Only a really strong and confident man can acknowledge that he’s helping his wife wash the clothes. This also shows that my father has his own opinion on different matters and isn’t afraid to share it. I want to be like my father in this way, because it is very important to stand your own ground in life and do not be swayed by some trivial things.

I often wonder at the deep understanding my father has about the important things in life. He encourages us to get good education because he believes this is crucial in life. He didn’t have a chance to attend school himself, so he has a valuable perspective on this issue. He often has to work hard with his hands because of his lack of education. He tries to help us get better education to build happy lives for ourselves and our families. Another point I have learned from my father is to be content with what you have and not indulge myself in unnecessary things. My father rarely buys new clothes for himself; he wears my brother’s clothes instead. Our life is financially better now; and our family can afford buying new things. But my father still lives by his own rules. One thing that he teaches us is the following: “Only buy anything you need, don’t buy anything you like.” Having so many attractive things around me it is quite difficult to live by this rule. But I understand very well that it is a valuable advice that can help me live a quality life.

Having such a wonderful example of ethical behavior I try to live up to the standards of my father. I try to cultivate such qualities as compassion, self-sacrifice, value of family and education, firmness of opinion, independence of thought and action, and integrity. My father encourages me to do this every day by word and by personal example. I hope this will help me to live ethically towards other people and towards our world in general.